In this MoP Classic Retribution Paladin guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about this spec. This guide should help you with leveling, gearing up through dungeons, or pushing damage in raids. For a complete overview of the class, don’t forget to check out our full MoP Classic Paladin guide here at Overgear!
4.9Retribution Paladin Overview in MoP Classic
Mists of Pandaria Classic Retribution Paladin is a melee DPS spec with strong burst, utility, and survivability. You’ve got cooldowns, off-heals, and a toolkit that makes you useful in almost every type of content. Ret is viable in PvE and PvP, though its performance depends a lot on managing cooldowns correctly.
Ret Paladin really starts to shine once you hit max level and pick up key talents and gear. Want to skip the leveling grind and jump straight into doing real damage? Our MoP Classic Leveling service gets you into the endgame fast and without stress.
MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Strengths and Weaknesses
Retribution Paladin is a burst-heavy melee spec that brings more to a group than just damage. From Hand of Freedom to Lay on Hands, you’ve got tools to support your team while dishing out big numbers. However, some mobility and downtime issues do hold the spec back a bit.
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Strengths
- Strong burst damage with cooldown stacking;
- Access to off-healing and utility;
- Easy to learn rotation and playstyle;
- Immunity and defensives like Divine Shield.
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Weaknesses
- Reliant on cooldowns for peak damage;
- Poor sustained AoE without setup;
- Low mobility;
- Damage dips when you get CC’d or interrupted.
Mists of Pandaria Classic Retribution Paladin Updates
Ret Paladins in MoP Classic benefit from several system changes. Abilities scale better with gear, and Holy Power has been smoothed out. You also have better control over cooldown timing.
- Mastery: Hand of Light increases Holy damage, giving better scaling as you gear
- Inquisition is now more important than ever for sustained damage
- Exorcism is now instant-cast with Art of War procs
- Guardian of Ancient Kings gives a powerful burst window
- Sanctity of Battle makes Haste reduce cooldowns, increasing rotation speed
- Hit and Expertise now share a combined 15% cap, simplifying gearing
These changes give Retribution more consistency in its damage output while keeping the high burst style intact. It’s not the top of the meters all the time, but it’s competitive and fun to play in both group and solo content.
Mists of Pandaria Classic Mechanics of Retribution Paladin
Ret Paladin gameplay revolves around building and spending Holy Power efficiently. You rotate between generators like Crusader Strike and Judgment, and spenders like Templar’s Verdict or Divine Storm. Managing cooldowns is the real key to mastering this spec.
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Mists of Pandaria Classic Ret Paladin Talent Build
The best MoP Classic Retribution Paladin talents depend on the kind of content you are interested in doing. Here’s a reliable setup for general PvE and leveling:
| Level | Talent |
|---|---|
| 15 | Speed of Light |
| 30 | Fist of Justice |
| 45 | Sacred Shield |
| 60 | Clemency |
| 75 | Sanctified Wrath |
| 90 | Execution Sentence |
Retribution Paladin Leveling in MoP Classic
Retribution Paladin leveling in Mists of Pandaria Classic is solid for this spec. You have strong damage, survivability, and can handle multiple mobs with cooldowns like Divine Storm and Word of Glory.
Recommended heirlooms to speed up the process:
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MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Best Gear
Retribution Paladins want Strength, Hit, and Haste. Here’s the recommended Phase 1 Best-in-Slot gear for Ret:
| Item Slot | Name |
|---|---|
| Helm | White Tiger Helmet |
| Neck | Shackle of Eversparks |
| Shoulders | Shoulderpads of Misshapen Life |
| Cloak | Hisek’s Chrysanthemum Cape |
| Chest | White Tiger Battleplate |
| Bracers | Bracers of Defiled Earth |
| Gloves | White Tiger Gauntlets |
| Belt | Waistplate of Overwhelming Assault |
| Legs | White Tiger Legplates |
| Boots | Impaling Treads |
| Ring | Dread Shadow Ring |
| Ring | Ring of the Bladed Tempest |
| Trinket | Darkmist Vortex |
| Trinket | Lei Shen’s Final Orders |
| Mainhand | Shin’ka, Execution of Dominion |
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MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Glyphs
Retribution Paladin Glyphs can improve your utility and survivability in all types of Mists of Pandaria Classic content. While major glyphs affect gameplay directly, minor glyphs are mostly used for cosmetic purposes.
Major Glyphs
Minor Glyphs
These glyphs support Ret Paladin’s hybrid nature, giving you ways to boost survivability, utility, and aesthetics without altering your core rotation.
MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Stats
Mists of Pandaria Classic Retribution Paladin stats focus on maximizing damage through optimizing Haste, Hit, and Mastery.
- Hit & Expertise (7.5%): Your first priority is reaching the 7.5% cap for both stats to avoid missing or being dodged. Cap these first before focusing on any other secondary stats;
- Haste: Your best secondary stat. Haste reduces your global cooldown, lowers the cooldown of several abilities, and increases auto-attack speed. It scales extremely well and becomes even better as you acquire stronger gear;
- Strength: Your primary stat. It is gained passively from higher item-level gear.
- Mastery: Adds extra Holy damage to your abilities. Scales decently into later tiers but is behind Haste in priority;
- Critical Strike: This is Retribution Paladin’s weakest stat in MoP Classic. Crit increases the chance for abilities to deal double damage, but doesn’t synergize as well with the Ret playstyle compared to Haste or Mastery.
📌 Keep in mind that stat scaling changes across different stages of the expansion.
Haste, in particular, benefits from breakpoints that lower ability cooldowns or increase ability uptime. These thresholds become easier to reach with high-end gear, making Haste scale better over time.
MoP Classic also features a gemming system where secondary stats (like Haste) provide double the value of primary stats (like Strength). For example, +100 Haste vs. +50 Strength. While Strength is generally stronger per point, the quantity of Haste available through gemming often makes it the better choice, especially if you’re already Hit and Expertise capped.
📌 As you approach pre-raid gear, simming becomes the best way to optimize your loadout.
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Tier Set Bonuses
White Tiger Battlegear is the Tier 14 raid set for Retribution Paladins in MoP Classic. This set contains five pieces and provides powerful bonuses when wearing two or four pieces at once.
- White Tiger Pauldrons;
- White Tiger Legplates;
- White Tiger Helmet;
- White Tiger Gauntlets;
- White Tiger Battleplate.
2-Piece Bonus:
Increases the damage done by your Templar’s Verdict ability by 15%.
Templar’s Verdict is the main single-target spender, so this bonus is great for damage. It’s especially strong in early progression and should be prioritized as soon as possible.
4-Piece Bonus:
Your Seals and Judgments deal 10% additional damage.
This bonus increases the baseline output of your passive and filler abilities, improving both single-target and cleave scenarios. It pairs well with sustained damage builds and further enhances your damage between major cooldowns.
Both set bonuses contribute meaningfully to your overall DPS. The 2-piece bonus is particularly valuable in early raid gearing, while the 4-piece helps smooth out your damage profile and makes your rotation more consistent in longer encounters.
Ret Paladin Gems in MoP Classic
Ret focuses on Strength and Haste gems. Only gem Hit if you’re under the cap.
- Meta Gem: Reverberating Primal Diamond;
- Red Gem: Bold Primordial Ruby;
- Yellow Gem: Fierce Vermilion Onyx;
- Blue Gem: Etched Imperial Amethyst.
Socket bonuses are only worth it if they give Strength or Haste.
MoP Classic Retribution Paladin Rotation
Your rotation is priority-based. Generate Holy Power, keep Inquisition up, and spend Holy Power on Templar’s Verdict.
Opener Priority
- Activate Seal of Truth for single target.
- Activate Seal of Righteousness for AoE.
- Use Potion of Mogu Power.
- Speed of Light.
- Judgment.
- Synapse Springs.
- Crusader Strike for single target
- Hammer of the Righteous for AoE.
- Inquisition when at 3x Holy Power.
- Guardian of Ancient Kings and Avenging Wrath together.
- When at 12 stacks of Ancient Power use Execution Sentence.
Single Target Priority
- Refresh Inquisition when at 3x Holy Power.
- Templar’s Verdict at 5x Holy Power.
- Execution Sentence on cooldown.
- Hammer of Wrath.
- Crusader Strike.
- Judgment.
- Exorcism.
- Templar’s Verdict – If nothing else is available at 3x Holy Power.
AoE Rotation Priority
- Refresh Inquisition when at 3x Holy Power.
- Divine Storm at 5x Holy Power.
- Execution Sentence on cooldown.
- Hammer of Wrath.
- Hammer of the Righteous.
- Exorcism.
- Judgment.
- Divine Storm – If nothing else is available at 3x Holy Power.
Mists of Pandaria Classic Retribution Paladin Best Race
Blood Elf is the best race for Retribution Paladins on the Horde side in Mists of Pandaria Classic. Their racial ability, Arcane Torrent, is a strong AoE silence that also restores 2% of your mana. It’s great in PvP, but can be useful in PvE as well.
Tauren are another option for Horde players. Their active ability, War Stomp, stuns nearby enemies for 2 seconds. While it has more impact in PvP, it can occasionally help in dungeons or when dealing with large trash pulls. Tauren also have the passive Endurance, granting extra base health, and Nature Resistance for minor survivability. They level Herbalism faster thanks to Cultivation, though this is mostly a convenience perk.
For Alliance players, Human is the top choice for Retribution Paladins. Their active racial, Will to Survive, removes all stuns and effectively replaces a PvP trinket, allowing you to equip two damage trinkets in battlegrounds and arenas. This makes Humans especially strong in PvP.
Humans also get Mace Specialization and Sword Specialization, granting 1% extra Expertise when using those weapon types, slightly reducing stat requirements on your gear. Their other perks include Diplomacy, which speeds up reputation grinding, and The Human Spirit, which slightly boosts Spirit (more relevant for Holy spec).
4.9Best Ret Paladin Professions in MoP Classic
MoP Classic Retribution Paladin can use any profession, as all of them are viable. You’re free to pick what you enjoy, but if you’re optimizing for PvE damage as Retribution, a few professions stand out slightly above the rest.
Here’s how the main options compare:
- Engineering gives you Synapse Springs, an on-use glove enchant that grants +1920 Strength for 10 seconds every minute. It lines up well with cooldowns like Avenging Wrath, making it one of the best choices.
- Tailoring offers Swordguard Embroidery, a proc that gives +4000 Attack Power for 15 seconds. While it doesn’t give Strength directly, the AP proc averages out to be stronger than the static +320 Strength.
- Blacksmithing adds two extra gem sockets (wrist and gloves), allowing for flexible stat stacking. Two Bold gems means +640 Strength, making it strong and reliable.
If you want the highest possible DPS, Engineering and Tailoring are the top picks. Other professions are competitive too, just slightly less optimized for damage. Want to max out Engineering in the shortest time possible and without the grind? Our fast Engineering Leveling can do just that for you!
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Best Consumables
Using consumables is essential if you want to maximize your damage. Here’s a quick breakdown of the best consumables for Retribution Paladins in MoP Classic:
| Type | Best Consumable |
|---|---|
| Flask | Flask of Winter’s Bite (+1000 Strength) |
| Combat Pot | Potion of Mogu Power (+4000 Strength for 25 sec) |
| Food | Pandaren Banquet / Black Pepper Ribs and Shrimp / Fluffy Silkfeather Omelet / Pandaren Treasure Noodle Soup |
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Best Enchants
Here we have prepared a list of the best enchants for Retribution Paladin in Mists of Pandaria Classic:
| Slot | Best Enchant |
|---|---|
| Shoulders | Secret Tiger Fang Inscription (Inscription) Greater Tiger Fang Inscription |
| Cloak | Swordguard Embroidery (Tailoring) Enchant Cloak – Accuracy |
| Chest | Enchant Chest – Glorious Stats |
| Bracers | Fur Lining – Strength (Leatherworking) Socket Bracer (Blacksmithing) Enchant Bracer – Exceptional Strength |
| Gloves | Enchant Gloves – Super Strength Synapse Springs (Engineering) Socket Gloves (Blacksmithing) |
| Belt | Living Steel Belt Buckle |
| Legs | Draconic Leg Reinforcements (Leatherworking) Angerhide Leg Armor |
| Boots | Enchant Boots – Greater Haste |
| Rings | Enchant Ring – Greater Strength (Enchanting) |
| Weapon | Enchant Weapon – Dancing Steel |
Best Retribution Paladin Flask in MoP Classic
Flask of Winter’s Bite is the optimal flask for Retribution Paladins. It grants +1000 Strength and works in all forms of content, including raids and dungeons.
Best Retribution Paladin Potion in MoP Classic
Potion of Mogu Power provides +4000 Strength for 25 seconds. Use it during your burst windows. It is ideally paired with cooldowns like Avenging Wrath or during Heroism or Bloodlust for maximum impact.
Ret Paladin Challenge Mode
Challenge Modes are timed dungeons with gear scaling. Retribution Paladins bring burst, off-heals, and AoE, making them a solid pick for groups pushing for gold. Gold clears unlock the exclusive Holy Warrior Plate transmog set, only available during MoP Classic.
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MoP Classic Ret Paladin PvP
Mists of Pandaria Classic Ret Paladin in PvP is all about burst and survivability. You’ve got defensives, stuns, and off-heals. Here’s what makes Ret strong:
- CC: Hammer of Justice + Repentance combo;
- Survival: Divine Shield, Word of Glory, and Emancipate;
- Burst: Avenging Wrath + Hammer of Wrath windows are deadly.
Ret works great in 2v2, 3v3, and even battlegrounds when paired with proper support.
MoP Classic Ret Paladin Macros
Macros can make playing Retribution Paladin smoother in Mists of Pandaria Classic. Here are two useful ones:
- Avenging Wrath + Trinket Macro
#showtooltip Avenging Wrath
/use 13
/cast Avenging Wrath
Pops your on-use trinket and wings together for max burst.
- Focus Hammer of Justice
#showtooltip Hammer of Justice
/cast [@focus] Hammer of Justice
Lets you stun your focus target without switching off your current target.
4.9This concludes our MoP Classic Retribution Paladin guide. Hopefully, it helped you with talents, gear, and mastering your rotation. Practice your cooldowns, manage your Holy Power, and get your burst lined up. With gear and good timing, Ret is a powerhouse in both raids and PvP.
